Beware of Dog. No, Seriously Beware.
Look at this face. Don’t be fooled. You may see the sweet face of a loving (while “special”) 17 lb cockapoo (a cocker spaniel/toy poodle mix, a designer mutt). However, this is in fact the face of vicious attack dog named Rodman. (After Dennis. I mean I pretty much set this dog up to have issues. Tsk tsk.)
About a week and a half ago, this sweet-faced puppy bit another resident of our apartment complex. The circumstances are ridiculous and take too much energy to type out. But let’s just say that my dog has unique and unresolved behavioral issues (my fault), my roommate wasn’t restraining him as best she could (her fault), and the “victim” reacted to our two dogs in a way that only further agitated them (her fault). Now, I’m not blaming the victim per se. Anything my dog does is ultimately my responsibility… It’s just that when you encounter two obviously agitated dogs (one 80 lbs and the other 17 lbs) on leashes while their owner/handler is busy picking up poop and the owner asks you to wait a moment while she finishes with the mandatory clean up so that she can better control her dogs, sweeping your agitated chihuahua into your arms and trying to rush by is probably not the best idea. I’m no dog expert but I’ve heard such reactions teach all of the dogs involved that there is something to fear in their encounter. And now that she’s actually been bitten, I imagine her belief that her reaction was the best will be strengthened. Oh well…
Since my roommate was the one with the dogs at the time of the “attack”, I only have her rendition to go by. But knowing our dogs, I’m sure it happened just as she said. You see my dog has a “special” reaction to my roommate’s dog’s reaction to new dogs. Cafe, the 80 lb mutt (from his size and coloring, probably some mix of golden retriever and border collie), loves all (well, most…) dogs. He’s rarely territorial and is generally excited to meet someone new. The only problem is his size and sound. When he’s excited he sounds vicious. And while he’s fluffy and adorable, he’s still a powerful 80 lb dog. His harsh bark and intense reaction scare people and some dogs. As his owner (and surrogate owner), we know he’s not really an aggressive dog. But it’s sometimes difficult to convince other dog owners of that. They’re understandably afraid for their safety and the safety of their dogs.
Rodman, my precious angel, has an entirely different and more strange reaction to new dogs. When by himself, he’s generally indifferent. Being naturally skittish and mistrusting, he typically avoids all people and dogs he doesn’t know. (And by doesn’t know, I really mean doesn’t live with. He doesn’t really like anyone. So sad.) However, when he’s with Cafe and another dog enters the equation, he gets jealous and actually bites Cafe. We’ve never quite understood why and neither of our dog obedience trainers could explain it. Rodman essentially tells Cafe not to look at another dog…with his teeth. He’s a jealous little bitch. And no matter what we do, he’s probably going to bite Cafe. We’ve managed to calm him down a bit and brace ourselves for the attack but no matter what positive or negative reinforcement we give him, the Rodman-on-Cafe attacks never seem to end. (And we know he bites hard. He’s bitten my roommate by accident because she got in the way of him biting his “brother”. It’s really unfortunate and entirely weird. He literally closes his eyes when he lunges at Cafe. You can hear his teeth hitting together when he misses. It’d be funny if his intent wasn’t to inflict pain…)
Anyway, this lady was bitten and rushed off. Rather than agree to talk to roommate, even to exchange information, she just ran to the office to report the incident…
Now, let me stop here and say something. While the general tone of this post will probably be that of annoyance, I have no ill will toward this woman or her actions. Everything she did was justified. It’s just that my roommate and I think a little differently and probably wouldn’t have reacted exactly the same way. But then again, you never know. I’ve never been attached by a vicious cockapoo…
My roommate called to tell me what happened and was leaving for a class when I got home. We talked briefly but she had to rush off. It was the first class and she really didn’t want to be late. No problem. I’d write a note for the office to explain it was my dog and to offer to provide the office and the “victim” any contact information, vet information and/or shot records. You see the lady believed Cafe, the larger dog and also my roommate’s dog, was the one who’d bitten her. While anything’s possible, with his history, we were both pretty confident my dog had been the culprit. Plus, if the 80 lb dog had bitten her, I’d venture to bet he’d have broken skin.
Low and behold, the “victim” is in the same training program as my roommate. For the next 6 months, they’ll spend every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday together. Lovely. 🙂
To make an already unnecessarily verbose story shorter, the “victim” seems to be a genuine (enough) person. While it’s only been a week, she (says she) only wanted to make sure he was up-to-date on his shots, she wasn’t at any risk for infection, the apartment complex was aware of the incident, and her resulting doctor’s bills were covered. As the responsible pet owner, I wanted to make sure of all of those things as well (except for maybe the alerting the apartment complex part…). So I got in touch with her, apologized, provided shot records and wrote her a check for the doctor’s bills (after verification).
At this point, there’s little else I can do. The victim appears to be uninsured so what might have been a $50 tops visit for a dog bite that didn’t break skin turned into a nearly $200 bill. Ok, ok. Luckily, I had the money on hand at the moment. Covered. Although I know the apartment complex is aware, since she reported the incident and I left the apology and letter and copies of the vet records she obviously received with the office, they’ve not said anything. I imagine since they don’t seem to have a policy on the books for this kind of thing, the lady hasn’t said she’s looking to press charges, our pet deposit is paid, the economy is down and our lease is up in 3 months, they might just be looking to sit on this. (Aside from arguing with me that my dog had been out unleashed with a sweater on. Now, if I call to admit my dog bit someone and I deny the off leash part, why argue with me? What seems to be the bigger issue? Really? Shaking my head…)
Apparently, doctor’s have to report dog bites to animal control. So my little ball of curly black fur has a case number. So sad. Since he’s up to date on his rabies shot and was restrained at the time of the attack, they basically assume it was an outburst and he was defending his territory or owner, not so much viciously attacking. Animals accused of this type of “attack” are placed on a home quarantine for 10 days. When the animal control officer came for his first of two visits, my ferocious dog got so nervous he literally just shit in the living room. Truly fearsome, I tell you. Anyway, he’s since “passed the test” and has been removed from quarantine. Oh happy day!
This whole ordeal was a mess but has forced me to reconsider behavioral based training with my dog. Between constant peeing, shitting and vomiting when strangers enter our apartment, running away from everyone, biting his “brother” when jealous, and now viciously attacking strangers, it might just be time. Too bad it cost me nearly $200 dollars, a potentially volatile relationship with another apartment complex resident, possible backlash from the complex and now animal control case number. But despite it all, I love my sweet puppy and will do what I have to. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that someone’s offered to gift me training classes. 🙂
(In an introductory conversation with the trainer, she’s already suggested puppy prozac. Oh lord…)
Considering a BEWARE OF DOG sign for her front door,
Jo’van
Since the doctor’s bills took a good chunk of the funds I’d reserved for Christmas presents, please enjoy dogs singing “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer”
1 Comment
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
The Truth: According to Jo'van 
Oh boy, sounds like you have a little nerve wrack at home.. our little cockapoo is the exact opposite- also a wrack nonetheless! When somebody enters our apartment, she goes nuts! She screams and cries as if somebody is stabbing her with a foot long knife! She jumps up and demands attention and cuddles, otherwise it’s back to the crying. She does it to strangers outside as well, whenever we are passing by anybody (could be a murder next to a pedophile) she’s lick them to death if she could! She also usually pees herself. When it comes to dogs, she is a little chicken! She just stands her distance and barks, usually hidden behind me as if to say- come and eat me, but her first! I guess the poodle part of them.. Good luck with your little pooch, hope the training helps!! Looking forward to reading how it goes.